Can’t wait until June for a dose of HBO’s True Blood? Why not order the trading cards then. Rittenhouse have just released its Series 2 True Blood trading card collection. These cards are limited edition and come with their own serial number (1-500).

Each series that Rittenhouse release concentrate on only three characters and this edition will see Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), Jessica Hamby (Deborah Ann Wall) and Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer) bought out into the spotlight.

You can also order a True Blood trading card folder to keep all your cards safe. Fans who ordered Series 1 will also have the option of receiving Series 2 in the same serial number order as their first set.

Make sure you get in fast for these limited edition True Blood collectibles!

Having written Who’s Your Mama, Are You Catholic and Can You Make A Roux?, Cajun Cooking For Beginners, and having a regular food column in the New Orleans Times-Picayune since 1984, Bienvenu was an expert on Louisiana-style cooking. However, when first contacted to make the cookbook, she didn’t know much about the show and all of its supernatural drama.

How to solve the problem? Bienvenu sat down and watched every single episode and took note of every mention of the Louisiana cooking.

Bienvenu knows a lot about food, having cooked with esteemed chefs like Emeril Lagasse, Paul Prudhomme, and Ella Brennan at the Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. She can even tell where a person’s from by their gumbo:

“In Baton Rouge, the roux is lighter,” she said. “Along the coast, they have seafood and on the prairies, it’s chicken and sausage.”

Thanks to her True Blood research, however, the HBO show’s cookbook is now complete with 75 Louisiana-approved recipes with clever names any True Blood fan might recognize. Some of Bienvenu’s favorites include, “Stake and Eggs,” “Tequila Moonrise” and “Wanted: Dead or Alive.”

Having first started cooking as a child, Bienvenu expressed her life-long love for the craft:

Calling All True Blood Fans!

The HBO Shop is kindly sponsoring a contest to see who can come up with the best idea for a new True Blood product. The winners will not only receive some cool True Blood merchandise, but may even get to see their idea come to fruition! So put on those thinking caps, we know you’ve got them laying around somewhere!

Up for grabs are the following prizes:

1) True Blood phone skin

2) Tru Blood blanket

3) Bon Temps Football T-shirt

4) Fangtasia T-shirt

5) Women’s Fangtasia T-shirt

Contest rules:

1) This contest is open to US residents only.

2) To enter, leave a comment suggesting a new True Blood product on this post between now and Saturday, June 16 at midnight, Eastern.

3) You can submit as many ideas as you want between now and the end of the contest. Each idea will be considered a separate contest entry.

4) 2 winners will be chosen, each getting to pick their prize.

5) We will notify the winners via their email, Facebook or Twitter account used to comment. If winners do not respond within 48 hours, prizes will be forfeited and new winners will be chosen.

Good luck, Truebies!

*EDITOR’S NOTE: The contest is over, thank you to everyone who entered! We will be posting the winners shortly.

Announcing the Official Cookbook for HBO’s Hit Vampire Drama:

Truebies and talented cooks rejoice! The officialTrue Blood cookbook will be available to ship on August 29! While the specifics of the book remain as scarce as a vampire in daylight, it has been revealed that the 85 recipes included are centered around authentic Southern comfort food. Maybe there’ll be one called “Ya’ll Gon’ Wish You Ain’t Ate That Corn Bread.” Oh, and another called “Gran’s Pie.” The possibilities are almost as endless as a vampire’s life span. Stick around, folks, I got a million of ’em.

The book also contains 150 full page photos from the show to “give fans a big taste of Bon Temps.” The book is written by Gianna Sobol, an associate producer on the show, and the one and onlyMr. Alan Ball. The recipes are by the self-proclaimed Queen of Cajun Cooking Marcelle Bienvenu.

You can pre-order a copy at the HBO Store website. It ships August 29th, just in time for the season 5 finale!

Sale!

Tanya Wright who plays the strong, down-to-Earth Kenya on True Blood reached out to let us know that the Kindle version of her acclaimed book, Butterfly Rising, is on sale from Amazon for only 99 cents until April 8th, 2012. The novel, the first that Tanya Wright has written, won a “Debut Novel” prize at last year’s Brooklyn Book Festival. Don’t miss out on your chance to get this wonderful book!

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2010

Lilah Belle has always been a trifle odd to folks in her tiny town of Lucasville; a “singer who didn’t sing no more,” Lilah is prone to dancing in the streets, dressing outlandishly and weaving fantastic stories. But when her beloved brother dies suddenly, Lilah’s grief sends her into a topsy turvy tailspin. Desperate to escape her painful new reality, she hits the road with the unlikeliest of travelling companions: Rose Johnson, a newcomer whose scandalous behavior in the small, sleepy town has branded her a scarlet woman. Anxious to escape their bleak realities, the women strike out in a stolen vintage pickup truck, barreling toward a fated encounter with the mythical, magical Lazarus of the Butterflies. Legend has it that Lazarus can “heal you and make your dreams come true.” The adventure that unfolds will transform their destinies, binding Lilah and Rose together forever. Richly evocative, Butterfly Rising is a timeless tale of friendship and courage, etched with pain and joy.

Reviews:

K. Moll said on Amazon.com:

The story of these two women really captured my heart as I read about how their friendship changed one another’s lives.

Bill Homes said:

I loved the friendship that was created by Lilah and Rose, two unexpected characters who were complete opposites, but had more in common as they discovered during their journey from Lucasville to Newhope to beyond.

I loved the friendship that was created by Lilah and Rose, two unexpected characters who were complete opposites, but had more in common as they discovered during their journey from Lucasville to Newhope to beyond.

Do you find yourself daydreaming of Jason? Do you imagine Eric is your sole-mate? Now you can stare at your favorite men everyday with the Men of True Blood Calendar. Enjoy all 12 months of the sexiest men on TV!

An old and powerful Nordic Vampire, Eric has a unique style. Now you can capture that style with your own Bullet Necklace. This Alex & Chloe necklace is crafted in California of Silver Plated Antique Brass and comes packaged in a gift box. Seen on Eric in Season 3, Episode 10.